The Unwritten King

18. The Lion and the Mouse

He rarely had nightmares anymore. They had plagued him nonstop in the months after the crash, and almost none at all since, like he'd used up his life's worth when he was seven. Instead, he sometimes dreamed about a chase. Not the common nightmare of being chased, but running after something he couldn't reach. The anxiety when he woke up probably wasn't so different.

As if falling into bed at sunrise hadn't been bad enough, the sky still had that watery morning shine to it by the time Nicholas gave up on good rest. He might as well not have gone to bed at all. At least then, he could have done something productive, rather than roll around in his sheets for a few hours of stop-start sleep.

He was missing something. He didn't know what, he didn't even know where to start, but the certainty of it had woken him in fits and starts. His breakfast came and he picked at his food, stabbing hard into a sausage when his agitation reached a tipping point.

"Now why are we playing with our food?"

Nicholas jumped so hard he canted backward, dumping his breakfast onto the sheets and landing with his head dangling over the edge of the bed. Everything flipped upside down.

"And all of these wasted meals!" There was a girl in the corner of his room. She sat on the floor with a tray of yesterday's food on her lap, snacking on the nuts from his lunch salad. "You're so small to begin with. Haven't you heard that food is fuel, Nicky?"

The wide sleeve of her robe bunched around her shoulder as she flexed one arm, popping a cashew into her mouth along the way. It was a very short, very silky robe, the color of a ripening blackberry.

She gasped. "Don't tell me you don't recognize me. Is it because I'm upside down?"

"You're Mariam," Nicholas said dumbly. He hadn't forgotten the courtesan's sepia skin.

"Oh, goodie. That would have been embarrassing."

"Why are you- how are you here?" He hadn't heard her come in.

"Funny accident," she said, rocking back and forth where she sat. "I just, I knew the library didn't have this wall last time I came exploring. Had to investigate, curiosity and such. I felt just awful for intruding until I recognized your sweet sleeping face, and..." She trailed off at Nicholas' blank expression.

"Oh, did you mean- well! It all happened after the birthday celebration. You could say I caught his eye." She shrugged off one shoulder of her robe suggestively. Nicholas suspected she wasn't wearing anything underneath. "Ever since, I've been...around."

She looked extremely proud of herself. Nicholas rolled onto his stomach. Without the lightheadedness, he caught onto more details - namely, the red marks littering her collar, and the disarray of her inky hair. Her words took a little longer to process. The connection between the marks and the words, even longer.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Exhausted, in the best way. That man is insatiable." She stretched out her legs with a happy sigh. "When I was summoned the first time, I thought he'd be boring at best, selfish at worst - growing up in a castle, and all - but, Nicky! I might just be ruined for all other men. Actually. Well. I wouldn't go that far. But he's so...thorough. And that mouth of his, filthy. And he's gorgeous, of course he's gorgeous, I knew that coming in, but it's a different thing seeing those legs up close- I'm sure you know what I mean."

It finally clicked, and Nicholas felt weak with how quickly his blood rushed to his face.

"We were all just aching to know what happened after the king whisked you away at his party. How lucky that I've found you- and in your own room, no less! You must be in great favor."